Selective analytical works of the characters from "The Scarlet Letter"

 

Questions:

1)      A) Draw a comparative analysis between the villains in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and that of William Shakespeare’s Othello.

 

B) Is Hester Prynne, as portrayed by Nathanial Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter, a woman of attributions more than a man? Substantiate your answer with reference to the text.

                                           Answer to the Quest. No: 01

                                                               (A)

               There goes a famous saying, “Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Be strong and choose to be positive.” This quote teaches us to face all the adverse situations with a strong and positive mindset so that we can turn all the negativities into positivity. Ironically, everyone cannot follow this all the time. People tend to act like a devil as their demonic instincts blow out the effulgence of wisdom and reasoning sense and make them revenge-seeker. Roger Chillingworth of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Iago of Shakespeare’s Othello are the exemplary examples of such transformation from good to evil.

              Roger Chillingworth is a man of wisdom, great intellect, and observation. He has dedicated his life in the pursuit of knowledge. But this dedication to knowledge has obstructed him to build up a healthy relationship with his wife Hester Prynne. Roger has failed to understand the psychology of his young wife although he can easily understand the psychology of his patients. The gaps of age and communication have obstructed them to build up a normal relationship. Moreover, the gap of communication has reached its extremity when Hester is left alone in Boston for two long years because Roger cannot accompany her for being captivated by the Red Indians. A young lady like Hester is trapped by her physical desires. As a result, she cannot resist herself from building up an illicit relationship of love and affection with the young and intellectual clergyman Arthur Dimmesdale. When Roger is freed and returns to Boston, he sees that he is cuckolded by his wife. It is noteworthy that Roger does not hold any grudge against his wife since he is equally responsible for the adulterous relationship of Hester. He says, “It was my folly, and thy weakness. I, - a man of thought, - the book-worm of great libraries,- a man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge,- what I had to do with youth an beauty like thine own. I seek no vengeance, plot no evil against thee.” But Roger firmly becomes resolute to take revenge against Hester’s secret partner and takes the challenge of finding him out by hook or by crook. He says to his wife, “His fame, his position, his life will be in my hands. Beware!”

        Shakespeare’s Iago is not a man of great wisdom and intellect like Roger Chillingworth. His story is totally different from Roger. But his destiny also turns him into a villain. In the play, Iago is Othello’s ensign. He is a soldier with bright hopes of being promoted to lieutenant. Unfortunately, a less experienced soldier named Cassio is promoted to the position of lieutenant. Iago does not consider Cassio as a soldier at all. He thinks the promotion is given on the basis of “affection”, not on the basis of “qualification.” Iago expresses his rage fervently by saying, “I know my price. I worth no worse a place.”  He decides to take revenge on Othello by manipulating Othello against his wife Desdemona.

         Revenge is highly forbidden in Christianity as it is destructive. In Christianity, it is said, “Vengeance is mine saith Lord.” Still, these two characters cannot stop themselves from taking revenge from their enemies. The scholarly figure Roger Chillingworth invests his time and knowledge to take revenge. To catch the conscience of Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger does not need to put any extra effort like Hamlet in Hamlet and Horatio in The Spanish Tragedy.  Both Hamlet and Horatio have arranged “play-within-the play” to catch the conscience of the suspects. But Roger uses only his great observatory power and persuasive speech to unveil the truth of Arthur. Iago craftily takes the chance of Othello’s gullibility, jealousy, and insecurity and manipulates him in a charismatic way to destroy the “well-tuned” relationship between Othello and Desdimona. The delicacy of their work is highly remarkable because their targets cannot save themselves from the claws of these incarnations of Lucifer.

             The darkness of Roger’s character is shown by Hawthorne through his physical deformity from the very beginning. The darkness of his body is absolutely parallel to the darkness of his soul. Hawthorne says, “He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage. One of this man’s shoulder rose higher to the other.” His name “Chillingworth” also suggests the coldness of his heart. The Puritan people have given him the opportunity to live with Arthur Dimmesdale. As the physical condition of Arthur is getting collapsed day by day, the Puritan people have decided to appoint a physician so that their “reverend” clergyman can recover soon. They come to the conclusion that a physician like Roger who has heightened brilliance in the field of medicine will be the best for Arthur. Roger’s acquaintance with Sir Kenelem Digby, his deep knowledge in rare herbs win the heart of the Puritan people. The physician can successfully analyze the psychology of his patient and understand that his patient must have hidden some secrets inside his heart. So, his only mission is to dig the poor clergyman’s heart like a miner or a sexton. To emphasize the devilish appearance, Hawthorne describes Roger’s eyes as “burning blue and ominous, like the reflection of a furnace.” He makes such a persuasive conversation with Arthur that Arthur cannot resist himself from reacting and Roger gets the confirmation that Arthur is the secret partner of Hester. He says, “Then why not reveal them here? Why should not the guilty ones sooner avail themselves of this unutterable solace? Yet some men bury their secrets thus.” Thus, Roger has become not only a spectator but also a chief actor in the poor minister’s interior world.

             Similarly, Iago has taken the whole control of Othello’s life in the play. To Othello, Iago is an epitome of “exceeding honesty”. So, he makes an “unholy alliance” with Iago and gradually steps to the destruction of his life. Iago plays the role of a smiling assassin throughout the play who consistently maintains a delicate veil of friendship with Othello to hide his sinister intentions that are inspired by hatred. Destroying the life of Othello is like a “sport” to himself.

         In both cases, the villains make a friendly appearance in the beginning. Ironically, the reality shows that their only aim is to destroy others life by any means. Both Roger and Iago are submerged into the mission of taking revenge. They have made a claustrophobic situation to fulfill their interest. Though they also have sacrificed the happiness of their life for taking revenge, they cannot retreat. Their inner hidden beasts win.

                                            Answer to the Quest. No: 01

                                                            (B)

             The Scarlet Letter is one of the masterpieces of Nathaniel Hawthorne which was published in 1850. In this novella, Hawthorne has exquisitely interwoven the story of the long-established conflict between the society and the individuals. The themes of appearance vs. reality, dilemma, revenge, hypocrisy, gender discrimination have taken this work to a heightened level. In this piece of work, Hawthorne upholds the power of a woman in the gender-biased society where women are supposed to be submissive and subjugated. He records the journey of Hester Prynne who survive against all the oddities and hardships of life. Her courageous journey from the despondency of adultery to the light of hope is truly commendable.

            Hester has come to Boston from England. She has been living here alone for two long years. When her husband Roger does not come back even after two years, it is perceived that he is dead. She is a young lady of captivating beauty. Hawthorne describes her beauty in a charismatic way. He says, “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and black eyes.”  A beautiful and young lady like Hester is trapped by her “id” and commits adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale.

          As the Puritans are strongly orthodox and rigid, the illicit physical relationship of Hester is highly punishable to them. Moreover, Hester has to go through a much bitter phase of punishment since the Puritan society is a male-dominating society.  The women in the marketplace make loads of scornful remarks on Hester. They think that the authority should put “the brand of a hot iron” on Hester’s forehead. The people are not happy with the trial at all as Hester is not executed. So, they curse the authority too. They say, “This woman has brought shame upon us, and ought to die. Is there not any law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statue-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray.”

            But Hester is not afraid of all these denigrating remarks. Since she is influenced by the liberal spirit of Renaissance, she does not have any problem to accept her identity as a sinner. It is also noticeable that she has embroidered the sign of her adultery, the letter ‘A’, using red threads. Thus, she represents her romantic mind and excellence in needlework.

           Hester’s boldness of character can be interpreted under the light of Lisbeth’s character. In the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander is characterized by her non-conformity. She has exceptional hacking skill. She lives by her own rules and sticks to what she believes in. Her appearance is marked by tattoos, piercings, and gothic cloths. People often misunderstand her for all these things. She is flawed, but she has the courage to push herself to be what she wants to be. Similarly, Hester possesses an unwavering personality. She does not reveal the name of her secret partner although everyone creates pressure on her to reveal that name.

           The Puritan people have isolated Hester from the society. Hester’s efficiency at her needlework which is considered as a traditional and typical skill of women has worked as an ample façade for her to survive and be a constant demand in people’s life. Hawthorne says, “The garments that had been wrought by her sinful hands were seen on the ruff of the Governor, military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band, it decked the baby’s little cap.” In this way, Hawthorne exposes the folly of the Puritan society. The hypocrisy of this society is exposed through the behavior of the Governor who wants to separate Hester from her child. But Hester protests boldly against the demand of the minister. She says, “I can teach my Pearl what I have learned from this! She is my happiness! She is my torture. I will not give her up!”

           Gradually, Hester proceeds to the path of triumphant of individualism and feminism. She has changed the meaning of scarlet letter ‘A’ from “Adultery” to “Ability” by extending her hand of cooperation and comfort to the poor just like Florence Nightingale, “The Lady with the Lamp”. Hawthorne eulogizes this glorious incident of Hester’s life using some weighty lines. He says, “She was quick to acknowledge her sisterhood. None was so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty. She came not as a guest but as a rightful inmate into the household that was darkened by trouble. Her breast, with its badge of shame, was but the softer pillow for the head that needed one.” Thus, Hester has gained the title “Sister of Mercy.” The Bostonian people say, “It is our Hester- the town’s own Hester.”

            Simone de Beauvoir says in her revolutionary work The Second Sex, “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.” It happens because of the inequality between men and women. In the Puritan society, too, women are supposed to be feeble and confined within the patriarchal paradigm. Here, Hester plays the role of a tenacious individual, independent woman, strong mother, and affectionate sister. Male figures of this society are portrayed only as authoritative and commanding. That’s why, Hester is a woman of attributions more than a man without any doubt.

  Question:02)“Ah!- aha!---I conceived you,” said the stranger, with a bitter smile. “So learned a man as you speak of should have learned this too in his books.”

                                                Answer to the Quest. No: 02

                                                              

     “Ah!- aha!---I conceived you,” said the stranger, with a bitter smile. “So learned a man as you speak of should have learned this too in his books.”

            The given extract is taken from the novella The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The lines in this extract are told by Roger while he is in a conversation with a common man in the marketplace.

            Arthur has failed to accompany his wife Hester Prynne in Boston for two long years for being captivated by the Red Indians. Hester perceives that Roger is dead and builds up an illegal relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale. Now, she is on the scaffold to be punished for her adulterous act. Roger is utterly surprised to see Hester in this way. So, he tries to know from the common people about Hester in a hypocritical manner. One of the common people tells him that the absence of Hester’s husband has led her to commit adultery. After hearing this, Roger tells that Hester’s husband who is a person of vast wisdom should not overlook this matter. He should definitely study on the psychology of his wife too. In this way, Roger indicates to his own failure to understand the mind of Hester. If he understood Hester, he would not face this situation today.  

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